A few weeks ago we went to see Stuff Happens downtown. The play centers on the Bush administration and the build up to the Iraqi war. Not surprisingly, George Bush is portrayed as an arrogant leader (not unlike his portrayal in W), Rumsfeld as a warmonger and Cheney as the quiet, back room manipulator and profiteer.
The ‘good guy’ of the play is Colin Powell, caught between loyalty to his country (dictated by the will to go to war of the current administration) and the plays depiction of his efforts to find a peaceful resolution. One particularly interesting point is where he makes it very clear that Cheney, Bush and Rumsfeld have an insatiable desire for war because they do not respect it or the cost, due to their questionable or non-existent active military service.
In the end, one is left wondering, what were they thinking (or how can they live with themselves)? More than 100,000 Iraqi dead, a whopping $1.3 trillion in expense (Which is well documented to have made Cheney, Halliburton and the US Military industrial complex happy) and … Osama is still free. Madness with no justification.
Footnote: On the topic of Osama, the playwright makes a scathing accusation during the play when Blair calls Bush, basically asking Bush why British troops were asked to pull back early in the Afghan conflict when they could have captured Osama (suggesting that the US ordered it). A quick internet search turns up little on the topic other a few articles:
The ultimate fault for the failure to capture bin Laden lies not in the U.S. effort, but in the U.S. strategy. Franks and Rumsfeld decided to attempt to deliver a swift and economical knockout blow to the Taliban through airpower and the limited application of troops on the ground. Instead of employing the Powell Doctrine of overwhelming force, the Afghan model for Operation Enduring Freedom depended on airpower and on highly mobile paramilitary teams, working in concert with opposition warlords and tribal leaders. Franks capped the number of boots on the ground at 10,000.
For this reason — the relative scarcity of U.S. soldiers — Franks and Rumsfeld refused to send more troops to Tora Bora to block, capture, or kill bin Laden. But soldiers and scholars alike have since argued that there were sufficient troops available in Afghanistan and nearby Uzbekistan to mount a genuine assault on bin Laden’s position at Tora Bora. And they could have been augmented within about a week by reinforcements from the Persian Gulf and the United States.
The report prepared by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee state that the British had managed to corner Osama Bin Laden in the Tora Boar mountains in the December of 2001. The escape was possible for the leader as the British officials had chosen to bank on “air strikes” and “untrained Afghan militaries” to track down a group of highly trained militants. Though the military had requested repeatedly to the government to send in reinforcements, their plea had gone unnoticed.
The military team that went to war against the Al-Qaeda were quite certain that they would be able to capture or kill Laden. Even as the militants endured hours of air strikes, the British asked to be allowed to block the mountain paths, but the vast array of the military power was not allowed to be used. While the leaders today admit that capturing Bin Laden would not have eliminated the terrorist threats that has captured the world, it would have put an end to the figure that continues to threaten the world and inspire fanatics.
One has to wonder how many would have been saved had Osama been caught 8 years ago? Another sad chapter in a saga that is far from over. Just glad Canada didn’t join in.
Michael Weening: a few pictures 